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| CONTENTS | ||
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Story How To Play Game Guide |
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| STORY | ||
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In the near future, space explorers discovered on a nearby world the Tetrad, a structure built by an unknown alien race.
Attempts to explore the structure ended in failure, as the building's defenses shot down any powered vehicle. Finally, the scientists developed a new craft, one that could pass through the Tetrad's defenses. Named the Solglider, this engineless craft can glide and swoop through the tunnels of the Tetrad. A skilled pilot can keep the Solglider going by collecting the Gravitic Boost Crystals within the Tetrad, while avoiding the speed-sapping Inertial Mines and destructive Antimatter Pods that litter the tunnels. Now it is time for a new pilot to enter the Tetrad, and brave the dangerous obstacles within. And that pilot is YOU! |
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| HOW TO PLAY | ||
| Solglider uses the space bar on your keyboard to control everything. (You may also map an external device, such as a joystick button or switch box, to this key.) You can also use the escape key to exit the game, in case there are troubles with the space bar. | ||
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When you start the game, you will see the title screen. There is a menu to the right, with the following choices:
START - begin new game A light will indicate which choice is ready to be selected. Press the space bar to make that choice. |
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Let's take a look at the OPTIONS before we start a game. Here are the options available:
SCREEN SIZE - change the screen resolution Selecting one of the first three options will bring up a submenu, where you can make your choice. Notice that on the submenus, the current setting is indicated with a white light. Making a choice exits the submenu and puts you back on the OPTIONS menu. Let's check out those submenus now. |
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DIFFICULTY lets you adjust how hard the game is. Even the easiest setting is still a challenge, though!
ROOKIE - easiest setting, objects do not move |
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GAME SPEED lets you adjust how fast the game runs. Choose the one that gives you the best play experience.
SLOW - game runs at half of normal speed |
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SCREEN SIZE supports the following resolutions. (Higher resolutions often look better, but may run slower on some computers.)
640 x 480 |
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When you've adjusted everything to your liking, choose RETURN. You can always access the OPTIONS menu from the title screen whenever you want. Now let's play a game! When you start a new game, you will go into launch mode. Your ship is poised outside the entrance to the Tetrad, as shown below. |
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In the middle of the screen, below the Solglider, you will see the Launch Meter (shown at left here). The meter throbs at a steady rate, and represents your launch speed. When you press the space bar to launch the glider, your speed will be determined by the level of power showing on the Launch Meter. The more full it is, the greater your initial speed! After launching, the launch meter will disappear, and the other main indicators become active. Let's cover those now. |
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On the far left bottom is the Shield Indicator, shown here. It uses a colored light to show you the current level of your shields. A green light means all shields are intact, a yellow light means you've lost some shields, and a red light means the next collision with an Antimatter Pod will be your last! Keep your shields up to full by avoiding Antimatter Pods and collecting Shield Modules. |
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Right next to the Shield Indicator is the Speedometer, shown here. This shows your current speed in units. The Solglider has a maximum structural speed of 999, and the onboard computer will warn you if your speed drops below 100. |
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On the right bottom of the screen is the Journey Tracker, shown here. It measures two things - Mission Time, shown in purple numbers on top, and Mission Distance, shown in yellow numbers on bottom. The higher these get, the better your score, and the better your mission! |
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| GAME GUIDE | ||
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The Solglider This is your ship. It is controlled by the altitude throttle, which causes the glider to rise when pressed. Release it and the glider gently drops under gravity's pull. It can reach speeds of 999 units under optimal conditions. Take good care of your ship and it will take good care of you! |
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Gravitic Boost Crystal These strange artifacts contain a core of gravity energy. Computer Voice Notification: Boost |
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Shield Module These balls of electrical energy can be used to refill the glider's shields. Computer Voice Notification: Shield |
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Inertial Mine These alien devices absorb kinetic energy on impact. Computer Voice Notification: Danger |
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Antimatter Pod These dangerous containers are found throughout the Tetrad. Computer Voice Notification: Antimatter Collision |
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Gateway This mysterious floating portal was apparently designed to allow the aliens to easily teleport between different sections of the Tetrad. Computer Voice Notification: Gateway |
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| Solglider ©2005 Howard Kistler/Dream Codex Retrogames This game may be freely distributed, as long as all files are included and unmodified. |
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